Tag Archives: unfair

Once upon a time…yes I am using a fairytale opening, because big business and morals in this country has now become a fairytale concept.

With the Royal Commission into Banks, who would be naive enough to think that all the other big publicly listed businesses actually do the right thing?

Why would they?

Their advertising says that you, the customer, are the most important thing to them when in fact it is hitting targets to gain bonuses. They couldn’t care less how they achieve their bonuses just as long as they receive them.

When was the last time you heard of a major Australian public company contributing to a crowdfunding campaign for someone in desperate need? I cannot remember one.

Small businesses have, however, and enjoy a far better image as a result.

The four major banks should have an ‘Humanitarian Budget’ which is allocated to the worthiest causes as judged by senior, or even middle management (remember them?). They can, and should, by any moral or ethical argument put some of the Billions of dollars in profit they make each year towards dozens, perhaps hundreds, of worthy causes. Their bottom line would barely be affected.

The one stupid, contrary argument (and unfortunately it is law) is that as publicly listed companies they must put shareholders interests first. In other words they must maximise shareholders’ dividend payments.

As mentioned they could easily give away $10M each and split it up into hundreds of worthy causes. However their shareholders would rightly ask “Hey, by law you have to put us first and by giving that money away I got $10 less in dividend income!”

With the law on their side unfortunately it is a circular argument, a Catch 22.

As long as that law remains as it stands, profits will always be put before helping people where public companies are concerned. Perhaps a ‘tweaking’ of the law is required?

Many large private companies (but still too few) are well known for their generosity. I argue it is because they decide what to spend their profits on, not a horde of needy shareholders.

At this stage I must put my own hand up, and reveal that I have owned shares and as a shareholder I lived for those dividends. Yes, I am two faced but at least I admit it and am ready to discuss badly needed change.

The big four banks might point to a number of charitable donations, but they seem to only contribute if they can place a huge logo on it, in order to achieve a return on investment for their marketing dollars. Yes, they call helping people in need “Marketing”.

Westpac used to have a lovely rescue helicopter flying around but only because it was saturated with their logo. Then they did some analysis and ROI (return on investment) calculations and ceased funding this rescue helicopter. Not because they couldn’t afford it, but because they need to put shareholders first followed closely by their bonuses (or is it the other way around?).

Putting bonuses ahead of helping people is disgusting and definitely unAustralian. Which is ironic because had they helped more families they would have received more favourable media coverage and may not be facing a damaging Royal Commission right now. It would definitely would change our perception of them.

But there is one final problem, and this is the biggest and by far the most difficult to understand. Almost everyone hates the big four banks, and will complain about them ad nauseum but they will not close their accounts and take their business elsewhere! The big four easily have 85% of the total market, so there is no incentive on them, at all, to change their ways. In fact it encourages them to behave badly because their customers do not leave them.

So, in the end, it is your own apathy and unwillingness to follow through on your complaints that makes them so comfortable. It also creates the perfect environment for corruption, because they know that no matter what they do their customers, by and large, will stay with them. So up go fees, down goes quality of service and contributing to the community.

Well done Australians, you reep what you sow.

P.S. If you liked this short article please click on the “Follow” button, I would love to have people other than my wife and parents read my rantings!

I, like many others, live within a predominantly transparent bubble behind several masks.

I was taught, as we all were, to wear a mask that conforms to my surroundings and most importantly the people within those surroundings. All to fit within the acceptable confines of my particular place in society, and the position of the people I am conversing with at that time.

We must choose the particular mask to wear for each occasion in order to meet society’s expectations, as we have all been taught (either directly or indirectly)

The (predominantly translucent) bubble I spoke of earlier is reserved for those, such as myself, who suffer from an unseen ailment. These various ailments could be the result of an action or experience (one incident or many) that we have endured, or the profound loss of someone who had a special (perhaps critical) meaning in our life or, as in my case, a chronic illness.

The bubble allows those of us who would otherwise be viewed as flawed, to outwardly project an image of conformity. It protects us making it possible for a vast majority of chronic illness sufferers to answer politely to such mundane and repetitive questions such as; “How are you today?”. Automatic questions that society dictates people ask out of courtesy every day, but inflict upon those of us with an invisible illness an internal and stressful conflict; Do I answer truthfully or do I value this person’s company?

The correct answer and the one expected is, of course; “Fine thanks”. However this answer is lightyears from the truth.

Steangely, if others have a minor ailment such as a cold, or a short term pain or discomfort that will pass within days, people are allowed to respond (to myself and my fellow sufferers astonishment) with an informed and lengthy response. After they have described their minor ailment the acceptable, indeed expected, response is immediate sympathy accompanied by offers of assistance!

Those of us who suffer a chronic illness do not receive such a welcome response to a description of what ails us, for we appear to be in good health (no sniffles, coughs or bandaged limbs). Alas, the exact opposite is true.

Worse still are greetings such as “You look great, you must be feeling much better!” and “You just need some fresh air and exercise and you will be better before you know it”. Indeed a knife thrust into a random body part is often preferable.

My own predominantly transparent bubble is becoming increasingly fragile, for every time I have responded to this unthinking, automatic (but well meaning) question with a “Fine thanks” accompanied by a smile, internally the lie builds and builds. This internal conflict adds to my stress and threatens to collapse and reveal the real me, something we are taught to hide. In truth I am afraid of what I might see.

My chronic illnesses (ME/CFS and Fibromyalgia) are completely invisible to the naked eye. However they are rated by published peer reviewed research as comparable to suffering the same pain, exhaustion and depression of a cancer patient in their final months.

Yet I have also been taught so well throughout my life, through repetition and society’s expectations, to provide the expected response just as quickly and unthinkingly with two little words “Fine thanks”. Once uttered, the lie is immediately regretted.

The internal anger that follows those two words is aimed squarely at my vacuous utterance, the falsehood of my answer and my (quite unreasonable I admit) regret that my illness is invisible.

I recently attempted a slight change to my response, to avoid my bubble from disintegrating followed almost certainly and immediately by my screaming “Can’t you see how bloody ill I am! I bet you couldn’t last a week in my body!”. I answered some greetings with; “Oh, about the same I’m afraid”, and failed miserably. This experimental response was met with confusion, blank looks and awkward prolonged silences. I should have anticipated such reactions as they are perfectly understandable, for my answer disturbs the flow of greetings that society dictates and indeed expects.

The simple and automatic process of a greeting has been irretrievably programmed into our social subconsciousness, and my unexpected answer was outside the acceptable parameters resulting in people not knowing how to react.

I have therefore abandoned this truthful response in exchange for peace and normality. It also preserves my bubble, allowing me some sort of social interaction and protection.

When I am greeted by those who are aware of my true condition and believe and understand it, I answer truthfully and honestly and am rewarded with genuine expressions of sympathy and offers of support.

Unfortunately this bubble varies for everyone forced to live within its confines, and not everyone has people close to them who believe their illness exists and is completely debilitating. This does not allow them to unburden themselves nor receive the assistance, sympathy and support they so desperately need.

With ME/CFS and Fibromyalgia, the illnesses are monumentally painful and include a list of symptoms so crippling you would wonder how anyone could live with them, but the illness and its symptoms are completely invisible. Unfortunately this is why many sufferrers are sadly met with incomprehension and a complete lack of understanding, which often leads to disbelief.

And their bubble darkens and becomes more fragile, another weight to carry equal to all the others combined.

And if their bubble breaks desperation fills the void, followed by even more stress which feeds the illness which then causes more stress…

Unfortunately when someone is confronted with something they do not understand, the social norm is to refute its existence. To not know something and admit to it out loud is to risk being called a fool. If you are a professional in the medical field with years of learning and experience, these illnesses are so rare and contentious that the safest thing for many is to ignore it. Better still, deny it exists.

Many times have I, and people with the same afflictions, been told by a medical professional, “I don’t believe in ME or CFS, as for Fibromyalgia just exercise four times a week for twenty minutes and you will be fine.”

WRONG!!

Countless studies have shown that exercise, even in its gentlest form, causes crashes that can take weeks for us to recover from.

Ten years or more of medical training and experience apparently beats what you are feeling and experiencing and therefore you, the patient, are wrong.

This cannot last as more and more people are presenting with these symptoms. Fingers crossed…if I could as they are too painful most of the time.

The struggle to continually assert to people that we do in fact suffer severely and there are hundreds of A class published research papers and millions of dollars being spent chasing a cure, is ridiculous and exhausting.

The fact that the majority of medical professionals believe their current collective knowledge is ‘obviously inscrutable’ (as it was before penicillin, medicinal cannabis, sterile operating theatres…) and therefore must be faultless and we are fine, just adds the proverbial insult to our injury.

I believe the current scepticism is born and raised on the fact that we appear so damn healthy.

So our bubble becomes solid, unmoving, inscrutable in self preservation. One day it will become so hardened by disbelief that it will shatter, causing us to crash and burn like Icarus but without the luxury of a warning. We simply experience the end of the story, and in too many instances without the preparation or support we so desperately need.

So we constantly use our masks. We smile when we want to cry, cry when we want to scream, and scream into our pillow when we want support and acceptance.

Like this:

So, I’ve been on a new drug for several weeks and yesterday (it’s just after midnight) morning I woke up feeling a bit better.

Sure, my hands and feet were still in a lot of pain (7/10) and when I tried to read I kept falling asleep and hallucinating while reading. Oh, plus my terrible itching from just below the knees down and a headache that was trying hard to become a migraine, and my skin (yes everywhere, all over my body) was still very sensitive and in some pain and all my joints are incredibly sore… but apart from that not bad at all.

Possibly the best I’d felt in a couple of years.

So what did I do? I overdid it of course, as we all do.

Hey look I can walk 30m with just a stick and don’t need my wheelchair!

So I ended up walking just over 700 steps when I’ve been under my 500 limit for ages.

Oh, and it felt good!

Until I woke up just before midnight (twenty minutes ago) with excruciating pain in my knees. And yes the itching, hand and foot pain are all still there and have been joined by neck and back pain.

And insomnia.

Why do we do this to ourselves? Because for two years I had pain all over my body, head to toe, and today (well, technically yesterday) my middle felt reasonable. Not in a ‘let’s go dancing’ reasonable but in a ‘hey, my pain is not as bad in places’ type reasonable.

And now I am paying for it. Just 200 steps over my self-imposed limit (try walking just 700 steps in a day and you will realise how pathetic my 500 steps are) and my knees are on fire.

So did I learn my lesson and will I take it easy next time I have a ‘good’ day??

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Centrelink is there for the needy, sick and disadvantaged, and yet provides the worst service of any government agency.

The top level of management needs to be sacked immediately, along with their middle management that publish outrageously incorrect phone answering statistics.

Then, and I know this will cost us, but there needs to be a Royal Commission into the whole Department and the policies currently in place. It could easily be a case of the right people being tied up by stupid beaurocracy. Until such a public, complete investigation is done those most in need of help in our society will continue to be treated with disdain.

We should all be ashamed (especially the policy makers who make it so difficult for Centrelink staff to do their job) for treating our people so badly.

So NAB announce a full year $5.3bn profit and at the same time the sacking of 6,000 staff.

Absolutely disgusting! With the $5.3b profit they should be hiring people to take care of the community, not firing 6,000 and potentially destroying 6,000 lives!

I know legally they have to put shareholders first, but surely the time has come for social responsibility to outweigh and extra couple of cents dividend per share! Oh, and I am sure executive bonuses will go up as people are shown the door carrying their careers in cardboard boxes.

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More evidence that governments attack those who can’t fight back, namely the ill and the poor.

The net medical expenses tax offset will no longer be available from 1 July 2019.

From 1 July 2019 if you have to buy a wheelchair to get around, the tax offset you were allowed (a pathetic 10% of the cost, but at least something) is being deleted. How lovely and caring of those on over $200k p.a. and couldn’t give a stuff.

“From the 2014-15 income year until the end of the 2018-2019 income year, taxpayers can only claim the net medical expenses tax offset for medical expenses that both meet: the current definition and eligibility requirements, and relate to disability aids, attendant care or aged care”.

How lovely of our caring government to kick all sick people in the balls!